British team's success with jab that targets proteins common to every type of flu virus

* Alok Jha, science correspondent
* * guardian.co.uk, Sunday 6 February 2011 21.50 GMT Article history
A team at Oxford University has had success testing a vaccine that can neuter any strain of flu A team at Oxford University has had success testing a vaccine that can neuter any strain of flu virus. Photograph: Science Photo Library

Scientists at Oxford University have successfully tested a universal flu vaccine that could work against all known strains of the illness, taking a significant step in the fight against a disease that affects billions of people each year.

The treatment – using a new technique and tested for the first time on humans infected with flu – targets a different part of the flu virus to traditional vaccines, meaning it does not need expensive reformulation every year to match the most prevalent virus that is circulating the world.

Article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/06/flu-universal-vaccine...

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